:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/57529703/857959174.0.jpg)
Not so long ago, a genre-bending “horror-comedy” TV show that blends elements of “The X-Files” with “All in the Family” probably couldn’t have gotten made. But in 2016, IFC made “Stan Against Evil” — and it did well enough that it made a second season, too, which started Nov. 1.
“I did not think anybody would want to do this,” said “Stan Against Evil” creator Dana Gould on the latest episode of Recode Media with Peter Kafka. “To paraphrase Andy Kindler, my demographic is ‘Men my age who are me.’”
The show centers on Stanley Miller (John C. McGinley, who you might know as Dr. Cox from “Scrubs”), an aging sheriff inspired partly by Gould’s father, who gets roped into an unlikely supernatural plot. Gould said there’s a direct through-line to the show from the things he’s loved most since childhood: Horror movies and comedy.
“It is a niche program, but now all programs are niche programs, unless you’re ‘The Good Doctor’ or something like that,” he said.
You can listen to Recode Media on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast or wherever you listen to podcasts.
On the new podcast, Gould talked about how the audience’s relationship to TV content has changed in the aftermath of cable and the internet. He said he doesn’t worry too much about how people watch “Stan Against Evil,” choosing to focus on the show itself.
“I’ve always had the theory that, ‘The public wants what it gets,’” he said. “If I, as a craftsman, do what I do and put it out there, then people will find it. Every time I’ve tried to second-guess what people want, it’s just garbage.”
Gould is also a stand-up comedian and spent seven years as a writer for “The Simpsons.” Although he considers the stand-up work vital to keeping his sense of humor fresh, he said it’s steering into what’s possible on TV that is putting his children through school.
“Evolution does not favor the strongest,” Gould said. “It favors that which is most adaptable to change. And it’s not just show business, it’s every business — unless you’re in the prison guard union. That’s a big business, putting people in prison.”
If you like this show, you should also sample our other podcasts:
- Recode Decode, hosted by Kara Swisher, is a weekly show featuring in-depth interviews with the movers and shakers in tech and media every Monday. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast or wherever you listen to podcasts.
- Too Embarrassed to Ask, hosted by Kara Swisher and The Verge’s Lauren Goode, answers all of the tech questions sent in by our readers and listeners. You can hear new episodes every Friday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcastor wherever you listen to podcasts.
- And finally, Recode Replay has all the audio from our live events, such as the Code Conference, Code Media and the Code Commerce Series. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast or wherever you listen to podcasts.
If you like what we’re doing, please write a review on Apple Podcasts — and if you don’t, just tweet-strafe Peter. Tune in next Thursday for another episode of Recode Media!
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
